The German leading index DAX is approaching the last, shortened trading day of the strong stock market year 2023 at a leisurely pace.
The DAX opened 0.17 percent higher at 16,729.26 points.
XETRA trading ends this Friday at 2 p.m. Trading turnover is likely to remain thin as many investors are not active between the years. There are no longer any important economic data or company meetings coming up.
Interest rate hopes ensured a good year for the stock markets
With a gain of around 20 percent so far, the German leading index has had an eventful but also profitable year, with the development of key interest rates being the most defining topic. Expectations that key interest rates would soon fall again had fueled the stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic in the past few weeks and pushed them to record highs. In the past few days, however, the DAX had run out of steam, while new records were reached in New York the evening before before the US stock exchanges ended trading with little change.
Investors face a reality check in 2024
In the new year there will be a reality check for the year-end rallies on the stock and bond markets, wrote Thomas Altmann, portfolio manager at asset manager QC Partners. “Then it remains to be seen how much risk the stock market investors are taking at the start of the year. And whether they are really prepared to invest larger sums at the current price levels.”
Editorial team finanzen.net / dpa-AFX / Reuters / Dow Jones Newswires